Small Business Saturday

Dear Editor, economic growth doesn’t come from letting a giant like Walmart suck out the assets from a town, county or state. When you see an armored car pull away from a large chain store, you can wave bye-bye to the economic engine (dollars) of that community.

Loss leader selling, (no or low profit margin) is a technique to draw customers in to the store. Most small businesses can’t afford this deceptive practice. Walmart, among others, is known for this.

Some years ago Walmart bought a large retail chain in Germany. Germany, I am told, does not allow LOSS LEADER SELLING. In the end, without this advantage, Walmart sold off those stores. Don’t fret for Germany though, they have a strong economy, a strong manufacturing base and are smarter on environmental protection than we are. We could learn a lot from our European cousins.

What the King City Council didn’t learn is that all business starts at home. I often went to the hardware store in King when it was still open and look forward to visiting Tuttle’s in Walnut Cove. Where I once bought a narrow shovel, which I promptly said was useful to dig graves for narrow minded people.

As to the Walmart store, we can’t un-ring that bell. What we can do is pay attention to our community and how the politicians treat our small businesses. We are fast becoming a nation with 3-5 mega retailers who will, in the long run, set us up for another deep depression. This Saturday, spend time shopping locally.